5-13-2008 Ohio:
DAYTON, Ohio -- Authorities believe some people in the Miami Valley are pretending to be homeless, but not in the way you might think. They are sex offenders who, on paper, claim they have no place to go, but in reality, officials believe many are living in local homes and apartments bypassing Ohio's sex offender registry system.
In Montgomery County, there are approximately 45 sex offenders who have registered their addresses as homeless, but authorities say there is always the chance that they are not telling the truth.
"It's definitely a loophole," said Montgomery County Chief Deputy Phil Plummer. "Half of them that (register as) homeless aren't homeless, they're just playing a game with us."
Local authorities require homeless offenders to register an intersection where they sleep. According to the Ohio Sex Offender Registration and Notification website, many homeless offenders list the Dayton intersection of Patterson and Apple, near a local homeless shelter, but others list areas like Dayton's east side, Five Oaks or the Brown Street area.
In April, Richard Smith, a sex offender who had registered himself as living near a homeless shelter, was arrested by Dayton police after he allegedly raped a young girl inside a Neal Avenue apartment complex. Authorities said Smith was living in the apartment, despite registering as homeless.
Dayton detective Jerry Dix is investigating the case.
"When (sex offenders) start to hide out like this, it’s difficult to find them," Dix said. "Just because they register as homeless, it doesn’t mean that’s what they are, most of the time they aren’t."
Investigators with the sheriff’s office look for Dayton's homeless sex offenders on a regular basis to attempt to independently verify exactly where the offenders are staying, but officials said the homeless offenders are usually not at their registered intersections.
"We know they’re not out there 24 hours a day, so they're somewhere, but we really don’t know where they go," Plummer said.
-- Since when are RSOs supposed to be in ONE place, the place where they sleep, 24/7? This is the kind of misinformation touted by officials.
Currently, Montgomery County Chief Deputy Phil Plummer said most of Montgomery County's homeless sex offenders are in compliance, meaning they register an intersection on a regular basis. Authorities said state law allows sex offenders to stay at unregistered locations for three days without falling out of compliance, prompting some to move from location to location every three days, but officers also believe many are using the homeless façade to allow them to live at permanent residences without notifying neighbors of their criminal history.
"I think there needs to be a better way of keeping up with (homeless sex offenders) when they get out of jail because I don’t want to be living next door to one, that’s the truth," said local resident Betty Blackmon Smith.
In late April, News Center 7 investigators went along with detectives to attempt to find some of the homeless offenders. The search turned up empty. However, one alleged homeless offender, who heard News Center 7 was trying to verify his address, agreed to register his real address on the agreement that his name would not be used in this story.
--I wonder exactly what time of day they went to check on RSOs? Is it possible that they were at work, if they work 2nd or 3rd shifts? The time when a person sleeps is not always at night, but the laws do not allow this option.
"I finally got me an address," he said. "I’m about to register it right now because you guys came to my mom’s house looking for me."
Detectives questioned the man and said charges for failing to register his new address could be filed.
News Center 7 investigators also picked several homeless offenders to look for on their own. Crews went to the offenders' registered addresses on multiple occasions, both during the day and at night, but did not find the offenders registered as living there.
--Another interesting comment, if a RSO sleeps less than 8-hours, is s/he still in compliance? As usual, the terms "living there" and "sleeping there" are being confused. The registry only is designed for knowing WHERE a RSO sleeps, not WHEN a RSO sleeps.
Local authorities believe tougher state regulations would help them be better equipped to keep track of exactly where homeless sex offenders go.
Ohio Senator Steve Austria said there are efforts in the works to specifically address the issue statewide.
"As a state, we’re trying to work with our local officials to see how we can better get a system in place to monitor where these individuals are ," Austria said.
--Again, the purpose of the registry is not to know where RSOs are, but WHERE they will sleep at some point during a 24 hour period, be that 1-2-3-4-etc number of hours.
But, not all homeless sex offenders are trying to bypass state laws.
"John," a sexual predator who served several years in prison, asked News Center 7 not to use his real name for his protection. He said he has spent the past two years without a home.
"I was sleeping under bridges and eating out of garbage cans," he said. John now has a job and is living with a friend in the Dayton area. He said he registered his new address with authorities because he does not want to go back to prison.
"I’m staying with a friend right now, so everything is looking up for me," John said.
Since initially investigating this story last month, some homeless offenders have registered new addresses. ..more.. by Jill Del Greco, Reporter
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